


When She's Ten Feet Tall

by NancyBrown



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Alice in Wonderland Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-08 19:50:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15937112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NancyBrown/pseuds/NancyBrown
Summary: It's not the weirdest situation Martha has been in. Taking stock, it might rank in the top ten. Possibly top five, when she considers the damn cat. And the medicines that change her size. And the rabbit. And the dodo, which she'd like to examine before she gets out of here. All right, call it top three.





	When She's Ten Feet Tall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tish/gifts).



It's not the weirdest situation Martha has been in. Taking stock, it might rank in the top ten. Possibly top five, when she considers the damn cat. And the medicines that change her size. And the rabbit. And the dodo, which she'd like to examine before she gets out of here. All right, call it top three. Still not the weirdest.

She reminds herself of this as she sits, captured again by the Royal Guards, and watches the Queen of Hearts play croquet. Something about the woman bothers her, like she's amused by some private joke the rest of the madcap denizens of this looking glass world aren't in on. The Queen makes noises about chopping off Martha's head, but she wears a satisfied grin each time Martha manages to escape. This is a game, and Martha doesn't know yet if she is a contestant or a pawn.

"You could become a Queen, you know," drawls the Queen of Hearts as they sit together for tea. "If you make it to the Eighth Square."

Martha already has her wrists halfway free, bound as they are behind her chair. She hesitates. "Why are you telling me how to beat you?"

"I didn't say you'd beat me. I said you could be a Queen."

"I'd rather be a doctor." There. Something flashes in the Queen's eyes.

She turns away, snapping her fingers. The Mad Hatter and March Hare spring over, spilling their tea kettle everywhere as they bounce along. She's ignoring Martha. She's angry, or embarrassed, or … No, there's almost a smile on her lips.

Martha slips her hands free. Then she grabs the kettle and flings it at the Queen as she makes a run for it. The Caterpillar isn't far from here. She can ask him for advice.

Behind her, she hears the Queen of Hearts laugh. She's not angry at all. She's pleased.

Deep in the woods, following the trail to the Caterpillar, Martha takes a moment to assess her situation. This could be an alien planet, but it doesn't feel like an alien planet. The rules of physics applied in all the worlds she visited, no matter how far-flung, whereas this place follows the rules of some feverish dream. She passes a unicorn with boxing gloves fighting a lion. That can't be right. Therefore, this isn't real. Martha is dreaming, drugged, or otherwise being manipulated into a fantasy.

By the time she reaches the Caterpillar, she's had enough. She meant to ask him how to get home. Instead, she marches straight up to the smoking monstrosity and says, "First, that's very bad for your health, and you should quit. Second, I'm staying right here until someone tells me who's playing a game with me."

She plops herself onto the ground, folding her arms, and she waits.

The Caterpillar mutters about Father William. Martha ignores him. "Tell me who is behind this."

"Isn't this very curious?" he asks.

"No, it's just silly and not very creative."

"There's a Jabberwock behind you."

She feels dank, hot, wet breath on the back of her neck. It smells of dog. "Don't care."

The Queen of Hearts stomps out of the woods. She's lost her playful smile. "Can't you try to play along? You walked the Earth and now you're just sitting there?"

"Until someone gives me a good explanation, yes." It dawns on her that very few people in any world would know about what she did. It was the Year That Never Was for a reason. She gets to her feet, a righteous anger slowly filling her. The Queen of Hearts stands a few paces away, frowning. She looks nothing like anyone Martha has ever met before, but that doesn't matter when dealing with Time Lords. "You."

The Queen wiggles her head tauntingly. "Me." She rolls her eyes. "Fine. You're boring. You were always boring."

She can argue, but there's no point. The Master, or whatever she's calling herself these days, has never been at home for Mister Logic. "Whatever you're trying, it's not going to work. I figured out your scheme. You may as well send me back home."

"You haven't figured out anything. I could keep you here forever as a prisoner. I ought to. You've caused me enough trouble." She says the words menacingly, but there's a hollowness under them, as though she doesn't quite believe herself. She turns away from Martha. "I could feed you to the Jabberwock."

"But that wouldn't be fun."

The White Rabbit has returned. Now that Martha can see him more clearly, she can recognize the touches of familiarity on his face. When he checks his pocket watch and she sees the marks on the back, she's not surprised at all. "So little time!" he says.

"Isn't there always too little?" asks the Master. She's not talking to Martha.

It comes to Martha in a rush. "You didn't create this world. You're trapped here, too."

"Don't be ridiculous." She's not as subtle as she wants to be. This regeneration is still learning how to control her features.

"Can you set me free? I can't contact the Doctor from inside here, but if you let me go, I can call him and ask him to free you."

The reply is a rueful chuckle. "As if you didn't know he would leave me here to rot. No, you're staying with me. Once he wonders enough at your whereabouts, he'll come looking for you. That's my way out."

Right. As usual, Martha is going to have to save herself. "You're probably right," she says, to buy herself time. The Caterpillar has a hookah the size of a tuba. Martha grabs it and flings it at the Master, then she flees into the woods again. Maybe she can get some help from the Lion and the Unicorn, or those odd twins. Maybe she can find the looking glass portal she traveled through. Maybe she can catch a Jabberwock and fly her way out of here. She won't know until she tries.

"You're being very difficult about this!" shouts the Master. She sounds perkier though, pleased that Martha has once again escaped her clutches.

Martha ignores her. It's time to figure out her own way home.


End file.
